Former Wallabies skipper Rocky Elsom has claimed the French court hearing that resulted in his five-year jail sentence was a “clear perversion of justice.”
Elsom has been handed a five-year prison sentence by a French court, who found the former Wallabies skipper guilty of misuse of corporate assets, as well as forgery.
The charges relate to Elsom’s time as president of French club Narbonne between 2015 and 2016, however the 41-year-old told the Sydney Morning Herald he “was not informed of (the) hearing and was not given the opportunity to defend myself against the allegations.”
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International warrant for Wallabies Cap | 00:29
The court reportedly ordered Elsom to pay back $1.1 million that he was judged to have embezzled.
In addition to these charges, French lawyer Patrick Tabet accused Elsom of having made a “completely unjustified” payment of $A128,000 to a former coach, as well as a monthly salary of approximately $11,670 to an Australian resident tasked with acting as Narbonne’s general manager.
Tabet alleged that the Australian resident “never came to Narbonne” and “did not provide any services” to the French outfit.
Elsom, who currently resides in Dublin, urged Tabet to provide him with “a complete list of the documents and filing he used to secure the reported five-year prison sentence.”
The 75-time Wallaby also heavily criticised the court process, in particular the failure to allow him to provide evidence on his behalf and defend the charges.
“Not allowing me to defend the charges is a clear perversion of justice,” he said in the statement to the SMH.
“I have a little more information on the evidence that was presented.”
Elsom called on the public to “consider the legitimacy of any process that does not allow for the involvement of the person being prosecuted.”
“I have not been questioned in this matter and the lengthy process seems to have deliberately excluded me from giving evidence.”
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